Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
“Somebody Stupefied a Death Eater on top of the tower after Dumbledore
died. There were also two broomsticks up there. The Ministry can add two
and two, Harry.”
“Glad to hear it,” said Harry. “Well, where I went with Dumbledore and
what we did is my business. He didn’t want people to know.”
“Such loyalty is admirable, of course,” said Scrimgeour, who seemed to
be restraining his irritation with difficulty, “but Dumbledore is gone, Harry.
He’s gone.”
“He will only be gone from the school when none here are loyal to him,”
said Harry, smiling in spite of himself.
“My dear boy... even Dumbledore cannot return from the —”
“I am not saying he can. You wouldn’t understand. But I’ve got nothing
to tell you.”
Scrimgeour hesitated, then said, in what was evidently supposed to be a
tone of delicacy, “The Ministry can offer you all sorts of protection, you
know, Harry. I would be delighted to place a couple of my Aurors at your
service —”
Harry laughed. “Voldemort wants to kill me himself, and Aurors won’t
stop him. So thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”
“So,” said Scrimgeour, his voice cold now, “the request I made of you at
Christmas —”
“What request? Oh yeah... the one where I tell the world what a great job
you’re doing in exchange for —”
“— for raising everyone’s morale!” snapped Scrimgeour. Harry considered
him for a moment.
“Released Stan Shunpike yet?”
Scrimgeour turned a nasty purple color highly reminiscent of Uncle
Vernon.
“I see you are —”
“Dumbledore’s man through and through,” said Harry. “That’s right.”
Scrimgeour glared at him for another moment, then turned and limped
546